Lenny Leonard handled in-ring introductions as well as commentary throughout the show…

Chuck Taylor came to the ring where there was a table set up with some red Solo cups. He said that after his win last night, he’s essentially locked as the number one seed in the Evolve title tournament. He said he spent seven years in college, so he wants to celebrate with a game of beer pong. He asked if anyone in the back who likes beer wants to challenge him. Out came Erik Cannon with some PBR tallboys and the game was on. Chuck raised the stakes by saying that whoever won got the first shot in their match tonight. Chuckie sank his three shots in five attempts for the win. Pretty impressive. Cannon cocked off after losing and the fight was underway.

1. Chuck Taylor vs. Arik Cannon. They took the action to the outside right away, where it was standard brawling for the first few minutes. Cannon suplexed Taylor on top of two chairs, but Chuckie came back a short time later with a high diving axe handle off the arena bar. They brought the fight back into the ring where Taylor controlled until Cannon hit an exploder suplex into the corner. He hit Taylor with a superkick and followed up with Total Anarchy, but Taylor was able to kick out at two. Uncharacteristically, Cannon climbed the turnbuckle, but Taylor threw a chair in his face, knocking him off the top and through the beer pong table. Taylor made the cover and got the win.

Chuck Taylor defeated Arik Cannon.

Zim’s Zag: Not really too much to say about this match. It happened and it wasn’t bad, but it didn’t feel like a DGUSA style opener. The beer pong start was unique and funny, albeit not for everyone.

2. California FRAY! match. In this match, two wrestlers started and a new wrestler entered every 90 seconds. Eliminations occurred via pinfall, submission, or disqualification. Ray Rosas and B-Boy were the first two competitors in the match. Johnny Yuma came out next wearing 1-2-3 Kid style gear. His tag team partner Johnny Goodtime was out next. As soon as he entered the ring, B-Boy pinned Ray Rosas after an Air Raid Crash. The next elimination came after the RockNES monsters hit Weapons Grade Bolognium and Yuma pinned B-Boy . Drake Younger was the next man to enter the FRAY! He took control over both members of the Monsters with high impact offense. He eliminated Yuma after a sit-out powerbomb.

Brian Cage was out next and looked like a complete beast, hitting his power offence on every competitor in the match. He eliminated Goodtime after a pumphandle facebuster. Super impressive spot where Cage caught a diving Younger in vertical suplex position. Famous B entered next and dropped Cage with a superkick. He followed up with a Swanton, but Younger caught him and hit Drakes Landing to eliminate Famous B

Brian Kendrick came to the stage with two of his students. He had them wait at the top of the ramp while Cage and Younger wore each other out. They eventually made their way to ringside, but it was still unclear as to who would enter the match. Drake Younger eliminated Brian Cage with a rollup combination. Kendrick sent one of his students up onto the apron, and then the other. He followed both men into the ring and with Younger distracted, hit Sliced Bread and pinned Drake Younger.

Brian Kendrick won the FRAY! Match to earn a match against Johnny Gargano at tomorrow’s Heat iPPV.

Zim’s Zag: Fun match, but it seemed like they crammed a lot into a short amount of time. Brian Cage was the most impressive man in this match and Younger looked good too. Once Kendrick was at the top of the ramp with his students, it would’ve been more surprising had he not been the one to enter the match. Not to knock his students, but they didn’t quite look up to par with DGUSA’s athleticism. As for tomorrow, Kendrick vs. Gargano is a showdown of similarly sized men with similar work styles, should be great to watch.

3. Rich Swann vs. EITA. This is a matchup of two of the best young talents in the Dragon Gate system. Both competitors are only 21 years old. Solid chain wrestling opened things up in this one, with neither man having a clear upper hand. Swann got EITA in the corner and hit the big 10 followed with a chop that took EITA off his feet. Swann looked for an elaborate move with EITA in tombstone position, but they lost grip and blew the spot. They recovered alright but were forced to improvise. EITA got momentum back by reversing the whip with a springboard dropkick, sending Swann to the outside.

EITA went for a dragon suplex on the outside, but Swann did a backflip and landed on his feet. EITA caught him a short time later with a big tornado DDT and followed up with a moonsault off the stage onto Swann. EITA got Swann back in the ring with firm control and hit a missile dropkick for a two count. A short time later, he hit a unique inverted sitout Alabama Slam that got another near fall. Swann got control back with a big Ace Crusher and followed up with the 5 Star Swann Splash that got him a two count of his own.

Both men met face to face and exchanged blows mid ring. Swann went for a back handspring, but EITA caught him with a nasty dropkick to the face while he was upside down. He followed with an inverted Olympic Slam for a convincing near fall. EITA ascended the top rope, but missed his trademark moonsault. Swann caught him with the Tornado Spinkick and his Standing 450, bit EITA kicked out. Swann hit more high impact offense and finished with a handspring 450 splash that missed the mark, but he scored the pinfall.

Rich Swann beat EITA.

Zim’s Zag: Very good match from these two. Moments of green showed with a few missed timings and the blown spot, but the final 10 minutes were filled with awesome action and convincing near falls. These two have all the potential in the world at such a young age.

Swann got on the microphone and put over EITA, Dragon Gate, and finished by calling himself the face of the high-flyers. He challenged anyone to try to make the same clame. He showed a slight edge that we haven’t seen from Swann, but he did help EITA to his feet after the match.

4. Open the United Gate Champion AR Fox vs. Samuray Del Sol. Both men tried the same offence from the get go. Fox looked to hit a flip over the top rope onto Del Sol, but Del Sol evaded, only to have Fox land on his feet. Impressive. Fox began to show frusteration after a lucha armdrag sent him to the outside. Del Sol got hot with rapid fire offense, but missed a springfoard 450, allowing Fox to take advantage.

Fox hit a springboard dropkick and followed up with his Kickflip onto Del Sol at ringside to take momentum. Back in the ring, the pace began to slow as Fox got a two count on a vertical suplex. He got Del Sol seated in the corner, skinned the cat into a dropkick, and finished with a running shooting star cannonball. Del So fought back and hit a dazzling twisting plancha over the top. He got Fox back into the ring and went for the pin on a sunset flip powerbomb, but only got two. Del Sol climbed to the top rope, but Fox made it to his feet. He went for Lo Mein Pain, but Del Sol grabbed the rope and sent Fox back down to the Mat stomach first.

He nailed the Rising Sun, but somehow Fox kicked out at two. Del Sol went for it a second time, but Fox evaded and hit a twisting brainbuster. Del Sol rolled to ringside where Fox met him with an imploding 450. Just amazing. He got Del Sol back in the ring and landed a springboard 450 for two. He hit Meteora to the back of Del Sol’s head, but Del Sol caught him with a desperation Rising Sun and both men were down. After a short back and forth, Del Sol hit a sitout shiranui, but Fox kicked out. Del Sol went up top again, where he looked at the crowd for a second, but that was enough to cost him. Fox caught him with a flurry of kicks and followed up with a double-jump Lo Mein Pain for the victory.

AR Fox defeated Samuray Del Sol.

Zim’s Zag: Super exciting match! This is DGUSA’s high flying style at its finest. Both men are incredibly talented and unique, and they worked very well together. I liked how Fox went for his finisher multiple times before finally hitting it. It provided a story for a match that may have otherwise been labeled a “spot match”. My complaint this match was the crowd’s failure to respond to some absolutely incredible moves, but that’s hardly a complaint towards the competitors.

Immediately after the bell, The Young Bucks hit the ring and delivered their spike tombstone piledriver on AR Fox.

5. Akira Tozawa vs. Sami Callihan. Tozawa opened up with a stiff exploder suplex that got him a two count. Sami came back and locked in the Stretch Muffler, but Tozawa got the ropes. Sami hit a springboard lariat that knocked Tozawa ringside and followed up with a suicide dive. Tozawa hit a wheelbarrow suplex into the ring apron and brought the fight back in the ring with control. Tozawa got Sami onto the top turnbuckle but Sami reversed with the sunset flip and superkicked the back of Tozawas knee.

He continues to work the legs when he bodyslammed Tozawa, sending his legs into the ropes and then settled into an Indian deathlock in the middle of the ring. Sami broke the hold but continued to work the leg with stops and a spinning toe hold. He spat in Tozawa’s face and called him a bitch. Tozawa came back and the two men exchanged stiff strikes back and forth. They hit bicycle kicks simultaneously and both men were down. They slowly rose to their feet and continued to jaw at each other. They went back to exchanging forearms with Tozawa gaining the upper hand and dropping Sami with a Saito suplex for a two count. Tozawa hit a German suplex but Sami came right back with a shoulderbreaker. He hit a dragon screw legwhip and went to another Indian deathlock.

Tozawa managed to escape and hit a quick Shining Wizard. Both men worked back to their feet and again, exchanged stiff shots and the crowd was split. They went face to face, but Sami struck with a quick headbutt. He followed up with a sit-out powerbomb and went straight into the stretch muffler. The ref dropped Tozawa’s arm twice, but he came to life on the third. They worked back to their feet and Tozawa hit a bicycle kick, another to the back of the head, and followed up with a german suplex for a near fall. Sami kicked out, but Tozawa hit the straight jacket German and made the pin immediately after.

Akira Tozawa defeated Sami Callihan.Zim’s Zag: Awesome match. These are two of the hardest hitters in Dragon Gate and this match was a great reflection of that. The pacing was spot on and the two told a convincing story. I’m not sure if it’ll be memorable or stack up as one of the best of the year, but it was a thoroughly entertaining, stiff match featuring a story that was easy to get invested in.

6. The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) vs. The Jimmys (Jimmy Susumu and Ryo Saito). Matt and Ryo chain wrestled to a draw before both tagging in their partners. Some really fluid action led to the Jimmys gaining the upper hand. Saito took it to Nick with a hard running back elbow in the corner before tagging Susumu back in. Nick quickly got Susumu back into his corner and tagged in Matt who stompped a mudhole in Susumu. Matt went with right hands, but Susumu hulked up and tagged in Saito who hit a double back elbow on Matt.

Super innovative spot with the referee distracted when Saito lifted Susumu onto his shoulders and stood on Matt’s chest with the weight of two men. Saito got a two count after coming off the top with a double stomp, and the Jimmys kept Matt isolated. The Bucks eventually fought back and hit their double team dropkick with a headscissors to knock Susumu to ringside. Matt had Saito cornered and hit a handspring backrake. Funny spot. The Bucks stayed in control and worked over Saito, keeping him isolated until he fought back with strikes, knocking Nick off the apron and hitting a belly to belly on Matt which created separation for the tag. Susumu dodged a Bucks double kick attempt and took them both out. He hit an impressive pumphandle powerbomb for two, but matt came back with a Whisper in the Wind flip dropped into a stunner. Super impressive move.

The Jimmys reversed the double whip with docey-do double corner clotheslines, giving their team the upper hand. Susumu hit a big momentum powerbomb on Matt and the Jimmys looked for another double team but the Bucks reversed. They hit an assisted shiranui and Nick got a near fall on Susumu. Nick missed the moonsault, and Susumu catapulted him into a wheelbarrow German Suplex from Saito. Saito hit his lariat for a two count and hit the Double Cross, but the fall was broken up. The Bucks got rid of Susumu to ringside and went to work on Saito. They hit a bucklebomb on Saito and superkicked Susumu off the apron. They followed up with More Bang For your Buck and got the the clean win on Saito.

Young Bucks defeated The Jimmys.

The Bucks took the Mic and said that for two straight night, they beat up “a couple Chinese guys”. Matt said the titles that have eluded them are the Open the United Gate Titles, that’s why they beat up Fox earlier. He said they’d see Fox tomorrow in their tag team match and closed by calling everyone dorks.

7. DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate Champion Johnny Gargano vs. Jon Davis in a no-rope match for the Open the Freedom Gate Championship. Both men opened with right hands, which gave the larger Davis the upper hand. He went to whip Gargano, which Gargano had to stop short to avoid falling out of the ring. Gargano came back and clipped the knee, taking the big man off his feet. Davis rolled to ringside but Gargano kept on him. Davis chokeslammed Gargano onto the apron, but missed a lariat and hit the ringpost, weakening the arm. Gargano threw a chair right into the face of Davis and locked in a figure-four around the ringpost.

He got back in the ring and locked in the Garga-NO Escape, but Davis slipped to ringside where he got to his feet with Gargano on his shoulders. He hit an F5 which sent Gargano’s ribs into the post. Davis hit a huge vertical supplex dropping Gargano onto the ramp. He threw Gargano back in the ring and continued to work the back and ribs. Davis brought out one of the ring ropes from under the ring and viciously fishhooked Gargano with the turnbuckle. He followed up with two curb stomps and maintained complete control. He went to ringside and positioned the ring steps a few feet away from the ring. Gargano surprised him with a summersault plancha and then began burying Davis under every chair he could get his hands on.

Davis got to his feet and blocked a kick by Gargano. Gargano slipped badly but they played it off alright. Davis carried Gargano to the top of the ring steps, but Gargano reversed with a sunset flip powerbomb, driving Davis into the apron. He made the cover in the ring, but only got two. He went under the ring and brought out a ladder, which he set up in the ring and climbed. A fan yelled “theres no briefcase” but Gargano had his plan, driving Davis down with a big tornado DDT. Back at ringside, Gargano blasted Davis in the head with a chair. Davis got a hand up, but it still doesn’t happen often anymore, so one shot felt very impactful.

Gargano asked fans to clear him a runway and charged at Davis. Davis caught Gargano and used his momentum to hit a spinebuster on the pile of chairs in a brutal looking bump. Gargano tried to throw a chair at Davis, but he caught it and blasted Gargano with it. He hoisted the champion over his shoulder and held a chair across his back, driving them both to the mat with a powerslam for a two count. Davis went for a bucklebomb into the ringpost, but Gargano slipped and launched the ladder into the face of Davis. He followed up with the Hurts Donut on the ladder, but Davis was able to kick out before the three count.

Gargano headed toward the backstage area and brought an even taller ladder back and leaned it against the ring. Gargano laid Davis across the ladder and charged at him, but Davis hit him with a flapjack powerbomb half onto the ladder and half onto the floor. Absolutely brutal. He rolled Gargano in the ring quickly and hit 3 Seconds Around the World for a very convincing near fall. Gargano made it to his feet and caught Davis with a superkick. Davis responded with a lariat and both men were down. They both fought for the ladder as they tried to get to their feet. Davis drove it into the abdomen of Gargano, but when he raised the ladder over his head, Gargano caught him with a superkick. Hit hit a second superkick and the ladder fell around Davis’s neck. Gargano superkicked the ladder and immidietly locked in the Garga-NO Escape with Davis caught in the ladder. Davis lost consciousness, forcing the referee to callfor the bell and end the match.

Johnny Gargano defeated Jon Davis to retain the Open the Freedom Gate Championship.Zim’s Zag: Another great match to end a great night of wrestling. I went into this match skeptical, bored by the idea of a no rope match. However these two put on a very different style match that told a perfect story for the type of feud these two have had. The match certainly exceeded my expectations and was a solid conclusion to the near-year long rivalry.

Brian Kendrick made his way into the ring and asked for a mic. He started by congratulating Gargano on his victory and commended him on being a fighting champion for over a year in a promotion with the most spectacular competition in the world. He said that Gargano has beaten top stars in Japan as well as the US. He commended his resume, but said that the glaring hole in Garganos’ record is never getting a win over someone the caliber of Kendrick. He said that Johnny’s pride is his flaw. He then asked Gargano to put his title on the line. “Are you a man, or are you a mouse?” he asked. Gargano anxiously grabbed the microphone and just as he began to speak, the feed cut out. When it came back, Gargano was holding his championship over his head as Lenny Leonard announced tomorrow it would be Brian Kendrick challenging Johnny Gargano for the title. He thanked everyone for watching and left Gargano to handle the traditional DGUSA mid-ring sign off.

Zim’s Zag: Overall, very solid show. Aside from the opener, there wasn’t a slow or disappointing match on the card. Great action all around and I’m a fan of the new feuds. I like the introductions of the Young Bucks into the Tag Title picture and Kendrick being spring-boarded into a main event position. They’re incredibly talented and can also bring a new level of recognition to the product. From reading comments in the chatroom, there were several first-time DGUSA viewers who were extremely impressed and vowed to order tomorrows show as well. I would recommend this show for a DGUSA fan on the fence or to anyone looking for an action-packed, hard-hitting, competition-focused alternative to mainstream pro wrestling.